Energetic Iron(VI) Chemistry: The Super-Iron Battery
Stuart Licht,
*
Baohui Wang,
Susanta Ghosh
Higher capacity batteries based on an unusual stabilized
iron(VI) chemistry are presented. The storage capacities of
alkaline and metal hydride batteries are largely cathode limited, and
both use a potassium hydroxide electrolyte. The new batteries are
compatible with the alkaline and metal hydride battery anodes but have
higher cathode capacity and are based on available, benign materials. Iron(VI/III) cathodes can use low-solubility
K2FeO4 and BaFeO4 salts with
respective capacities of 406 and 313 milliampere-hours per gram.
Super-iron batteries have a 50 percent energy advantage compared to
conventional alkaline batteries. A cell with an iron(VI) cathode
and a metal hydride anode is significantly (75 percent) rechargeable.
Department of Chemistry and Institute of Catalysis Science,
Technion--Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
chrlicht{at}techunix.technion.ac.il